Protect the Amazon and Tropical Forests
The health of tropical forests shapes your daily life—from many of the foods on your plate to the stability of our climate to the strength of our economy. But the forests that make these essentials possible are disappearing at an alarming rate.
In 2024 alone, tropical forests lost 80% more primary rainforest compared to the previous year. And when forests are lost, their destruction sets off a series of changes that affect life locally and around the world.
Leaders at COP30 have an opportunity to deliver transformative action. Nature needs us now to protect the tropical forests that make our lives possible.
To Leaders at COP30 and the UNFCCC Secretariat:
Forests are home to most of the world’s diversity of life on land—yet they’re under tremendous threat. We have less than five years left to deliver on the global commitment to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. As a global citizen, I call on leaders at COP30 to take transformative action to protect the world’s tropical forests, including:
A binding decision at COP30, which includes a commitment to halt and reverse deforestation and ecosystem conversion by 2030, with a clear and measurable action framework.
Revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), aligned with the 1.5°C limit, with specific, measurable, and financed targets for forests and biodiversity. Today, fewer than half of forest-rich countries include forest-specific mitigation targets in their NDCs, and only 4% mention deforestation-free supply chains.
Scaled up financial flows to conserve and restore tropical forests, including investment and support for the new Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) to halt and reverse deforestation. At least 20% of TFFF payments for performance must go directly to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. In addition, the nearly $ 2 trillion in harmful subsidies must be redirected toward incentives that keep forests and other critical ecosystems standing.
Accountability from companies for their existing commitments to removing deforestation and the conversion of natural habitats from their supply chains. Agricultural expansion drives 90% of global deforestation, and in some regions is closely intertwined with illegal land clearing and logging and illicit mining and trade. COP30 must mark the beginning of real implementation of legal and deforestation-free supply chains, with robust traceability and verification.
Ensuring the effective participation of local communities in the planning and implementation of policies and decision-making in tropical forest regions, guaranteeing the application of free, prior, and informed consent. Inclusive governance and co-management of territories can maintain the health of ecosystems, economies, and human security.
Leaders at COP30 must send an unequivocal message: Healthy forests are essential to human health, security, and well-being. The transition to secure and resilient energy, food, and financial systems must accelerate, while conserving and restoring nature at scale.
Sincerely,
Your Name
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